The operation of electronic modules such as printed wiring assemblies, which include printed wiring boards or cards having various circuit packages attached thereto, creates heat that needs to be removed through heat exchange with a heat sink. Typically, the heat sink is a chassis such as a cold plate, which contains slots for holding individual printed wiring boards. The printed wiring boards are retained in the slots by wedgelocks, which are mechanically expanding assemblies that are fastened along one surface of the printed wiring board to hold the printed wiring board in direct contact with the cold plate.
Conventional wedgelocks that are used to secure conduction cooled printed wiring assemblies to a chassis provide limited thermal conductivity due to restricted thermal paths within the wedgelocks. Thermal transfer is also limited by the thermal resistance of the board material.
The thermal dissipation of electronics cards/boards is increasing at a rapid pace with the development of faster integrated circuit (IC) chips. This requires improvements in cooling design methods, particularly for space-borne applications which rely on conductive thermal transfer.